1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to automotive repair equipment and, more particularly, to a dolly for transporting front wheel drive vehicles under repair and, particularly, such vehicles employing a so-called "four-point cradle."
2. Description of Related Art
Presently there are nearly 100 vehicles on the market which employ front wheel drive and an engine/transaxle cradle or subframe, known in the art as a "four-point cradle." Various repair operations on such vehicles require removing the four-point cradle entirely from the vehicle while it is raised off the ground by lifting apparatus in a repair bay. Once the cradle is removed, the vehicle cannot be moved off the lifting apparatus. Thus, the vehicle may be required to remain on the lift apparatus in the repair bay for up to two-and-one-half days while repair operations on vehicle componentry are completed. In such case the repair bay is occupied for that entire period and cannot be used for further repair operations on other vehicles. If parts must be back ordered, the repair bay may be occupied for even longer periods. As may be appreciated, this inefficiency translates into loss of a great deal of money which could be made employing the repair bay for additional repair operations on other vehicles.
Accordingly, the prior art has attempted to provide a dolly apparatus which bolts onto the vehicle to temporarily replace the cradle and to permit the vehicle to be lowered and removed from the repair bay. A known prior art front wheel drive car dolly comprises a pair of swivel casters mounted to an elongated square metal tube. The elongated tube has first and second brackets which are bolted thereto. The brackets permit the bar and casters to be attached to the vehicle's two front engine/transaxle cradle mounting holes by means of several brackets and adapters. Unfortunately, this dolly has been known to collapse under the weight of the vehicle when it encounters a crack in the pavement surface over which the vehicle is being transported. Additionally, the prior art dolly requires the use of various accessory brackets which must be bolted in place in order to adapt the dolly to various front wheel drive vehicles. An effort was also made to employ rear struts with the prior art dolly which were also square metal tubes and had to be bolted on and off the dolly and to the rear cradle bolt holes of a vehicle. In addition to being cumbersome and difficult to use, the prior art dolly with the rear struts bolted in place weighs approximately 96 pounds. Its use is essentially a three-man job.